USTA Launches 'Give the Gift of Tennis'

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The USTA announced today details of its “Give the Gift of Tennis” holiday campaign that will encourage fans to match young tennis players with properly-sized tennis racquets, and with proper compression balls. The campaign includes the USTA’s first-ever promotional sweepstakes on Facebook where fans can win free equipment and the chance to play tennis with new U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier. The campaign begins December 1 and continues through the holiday season.

The objective of the “Give the Gift of Tennis” campaign is to promote playing tennis at home — no courts are necessary. With modified equipment, you can just as easily play at your local playground, driveway, cul-de-sac, or even in the back yard. The equipment is easy to set up and perfect for an entire family to enjoy together. 10 and Under Tennis is designed to get kids into the game immediately, so that within the first hour, they can actually be playing. Scaling the game down to their size helps make the learning process substantially easier and more fun.

The USTA is working closely with Tennis Warehouse, the leading online retailer of tennis equipment, to encourage families to purchase age-appropriate equipment for their children. This includes utilizing racquets adjusted to a child’s size, low-compression balls that have less bounce and smaller nets, as well as having young players learn on smaller courts.

In addition to the “Give the Gift of Tennis” campaign, the USTA is also launching a tennis equipment sweepstakes via the USTA’s Facebook page. Each day from December 1 through December 15, the USTA will give away 50 kids-friendly tennis packages that will include two 21-inch tennis racquets, two 23-inch tennis racquets and six red foam tennis balls, to highlight the USTA’s new approach to teaching the sport of tennis to younger players. In all, 3,000 racquets and 4,500 balls will be given away this holiday season. In addition, one lucky fan will also win a grand prize - the chance to play tennis for one hour with new U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The total retail value of this promotion exceeds $50,000.

Please visit USTA.com for more information on how you can take part in the USTA’s “Give the Gift of Tennis” and Facebook.com/USTA to enter the Facebook sweepstakes.